Tuesday, December 30, 2003
SUPERSONICS 87, ROCKETS 86
Last night, I realized when the score was 63-60 Rockets at the end of the third quarter that this is exactly the type of NBA game that I hate to watch. I also realized that Rocket coach Jeff Van Gundy was the man to thank for this brutal game. His coaching style turned the Knicks into a suffocatingly physical defensive team that battled the Miami Heat to some grueling (and very boring) 75-73-type games. He's trying to do the same thing with his Rockets. SportsCenter quoted Steve Francis as saying something to the effect of not caring about the points column in the boxscores anymore, just the assists.
Anyway, Jerome James had some stupid moments in the 4th quarter with turnovers, but he (along with Vitaly Potapenko and Calvin Booth) did a pretty good job on Yao Ming for most of the night.
The Rockets? Well, in Van Gundy's words...
"Turnovers, missed free throws at critical times, lack of rebounding and fouls down the stretch. I'm just thinking about how we can get better. Obviously, we're not good enough."
Even Vlad Radmanovic had his golden moment in this game, hitting a three to boost the Sonics' late lead from one to four.
One difference in this game that I don't think we would have seen before -- in a horribly low-scoring defense-dominated game, Ray Allen stepped up and delivered with 28 pts, 8 boards, and 3 dishes. I know Ron Murray has shown us some flashes of brilliance this year, but how many times can we really expect him to step up, especially with his decreased minutes?
As for Vlad's threeball, it was a matter of time -- the Sonics had launched so many threes in the game (a 9-of-32, 28% downtown brickfest) that they were bound to eventually nail one. The Sonics shot only 35.4% from the field and somehow managed to win this game. They also managed to outrebound the Rockets 47-42. The Sonics went 22-27 (81.5%) from the line.
Anyway, Jerome James had some stupid moments in the 4th quarter with turnovers, but he (along with Vitaly Potapenko and Calvin Booth) did a pretty good job on Yao Ming for most of the night.
The Rockets? Well, in Van Gundy's words...
"Turnovers, missed free throws at critical times, lack of rebounding and fouls down the stretch. I'm just thinking about how we can get better. Obviously, we're not good enough."
Even Vlad Radmanovic had his golden moment in this game, hitting a three to boost the Sonics' late lead from one to four.
One difference in this game that I don't think we would have seen before -- in a horribly low-scoring defense-dominated game, Ray Allen stepped up and delivered with 28 pts, 8 boards, and 3 dishes. I know Ron Murray has shown us some flashes of brilliance this year, but how many times can we really expect him to step up, especially with his decreased minutes?
As for Vlad's threeball, it was a matter of time -- the Sonics had launched so many threes in the game (a 9-of-32, 28% downtown brickfest) that they were bound to eventually nail one. The Sonics shot only 35.4% from the field and somehow managed to win this game. They also managed to outrebound the Rockets 47-42. The Sonics went 22-27 (81.5%) from the line.
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